She laughed. “You’ll do great.”
Pearl stormed up, wooden spoon in hand. “If y’all don’t come in for breakfast right now, I will tan every last one of you. Especially you, Bronc. You can’t get married on an empty stomach.”
Juliet laughed and tugged her mate inside. I followed, drawn by the promise of food and the scent of fresh coffee. The kitchen was a madhouse: stacks of pancakes, piles of bacon, eggs done every way you could imagine. Pearl moved through the chaos like a general, her staff falling in line behind her.
“Eat,” she ordered, planting a plate in front of Bronc. “You too, Big Papa. You’re skin and bones.”
I looked down at myself. Two hundred fifty pounds, six-five, and “skin and bones” was the least accurate thing ever said about me.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said.
We sat, the officers crowding around the big oak table. Wrecker and Parker arrived last, hair windblown from the ride in.
“Perimeter is green,” Wrecker reported, walking in with Parker. “Got the drones up, and Parker’s mapped the entire zone.”
Parker grinned, her cheeks pink. “I even wrote a script to track the guest list as they show up. You should see the spreadsheet.”
Gunner grabbed three biscuits and tried to stuff them into his mouth at once. “I heard that vampire’s bringing his daughter. The tall one with the accent.”
Wrecker snorted. “Focus, cowboy. We’ve got security on the agenda.”
Pearl tapped her spoon on the counter. “You will not start a bar fight before noon, or so help me—”
Arsenal raised his hand. “Permission to address the Alpha?”
Bronc rolled his eyes. “Permission granted, asshole.”
“Recommend a double check on fire protocols,” Arsenal said. “Vampires don’t always appreciate the open flame.”
“Duly noted,” Bronc replied.
Parker chimed in. “The lights are all LED, anyway. No heat. Just ambiance. And the flames are contained in butane patio heaters.”
Doc sat down with a mountain of food piled on a plate. “Fire schmire. Kazimir ain’t scared of shit. Fucker’s a thousand years old. Think a little flame is gonna bother him?”
Arsenal gave Doc the stink eye. “Yeah, ya dick, but Kazimir’s people ain’t a thousand years old. Just tryin’ to be respectful of our guests.”
I butted in to keep a brawl from breaking out and Pearl from bringing in the wooden spoon to paddle their asses. “Alright, you two. Knock it off. Arsenal, point well taken. As Parker nicelypointed out, there’s nothing to worry about since all flames are contained. Although a fire pit for s’mores might be nice at some point during the night.” I used my best soothing tone, and everyone simmered back down.
I watched the room, the way everyone played their role. It felt like family, chaos and all. Even the nerves in my stomach settled. Juliet caught my eye, and for a split second, I saw the woman she’d been months before this. She’d shown up to be Bronc’s bookkeeper without a clue that she had an ounce of shifter blood, much less Omega blood. Now she was Luna, and the world was about to bear witness.
After breakfast, we all moved to the meeting room for the pre-ceremony “church.” Bronc stood at the head, Juliet at his side. The officers took their spots, with Pearl and Maddie sitting in as honorary members. The room buzzed with anticipation.
Bronc called the meeting to order with a simple, “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Wrecker gave the security rundown; then handed off to Parker, who shared the guest list, and the updated seating chart.
“Menace and Savannah will arrive with two guards at 10:00,” Parker read from her tablet. “Kazimir Kozlov, plus daughter Lucia and two advisors, we think, 10:30. Archon Seraphael still hasn’t RSVP’d, but his proxies say he’s strongly considering attending. Time of arrival: unknown. Rafe Mayfield is a wildcard. Time of arrival also unknown.”
Gunner snorted. “Figures the wolves would show up when the mood strikes.”
Wrecker ignored the joke. “Every arrival point is covered. Arsenal and I will run double checks every fifteen minutes. Everyone will be directed to their guest houses. No one gets in or out without a full check.”
Bronc nodded. “Anything else?”
I raised my hand. “Aspen and Oscar have finished the magical wards around the territory. Nothing gets through that isn’t supposed to, and the cake is secure.”
Juliet’s smile could have powered the whole compound. “Tell Aspen I can’t wait to see what she’s made.”
